[myfriendis410]

Like you I wanted to start reloading (let's just go ahead and say "needed" to). I was able to try PW, Hornady/Pacific and Mec. There are pros and cons to each.

First let me say that a progressive, to me, is the only way to go. I want to spend more time shooting than loading. The single stage presses won't do that.

The PW: does a creditable job. It can be fast. However; the primer feed and the inability to remove a buggered-up shell plus the cost steered me away from it.

The Hornady/Pacific: I currently have a 12 gauge. Very smooth, makes good shells, is easy to change loads, holds a large enough amount of powder and shot and has a pretty good primer delivery system. You can remove bad shells from the press, but is a bit tedious. You can easily dump powder or shot at an empty station if you don't pay attention. It takes up a fairly large footprint on the bench. It does well only in 12 gauge. It's very fast and smooth.

The Mec: The Grabber and the 9000 both make shells quickly and with a high degree of quality and consistency. The price point is lower than the others. You can easily remove shells from the press if needed. Changing the load is fairly straightforward. It holds a good amount of powder and shot. It has a small footprint. The Grabber is a bit slower as you have to manually index; this is not bad if you want to look at the shells as they come out (I do with the 28 and .410), but may not be necessary in the larger gauges (12 and 20--they are easier to load). The 9000 pukes shells out at the rate of 100 in ten minutes or less, which is plenty fast enough for me. Two of my Mecs have been in constant use since around 1990 with no repairs. They have each loaded tens of thousands of rounds.

Overall I think the Mec is the best loader for the money. The 9000G is simply a fantastic press. It kind of looks like a tinkertoy but it has held up incredibly well.